We can't drink when we're underage?!

Everyone came up on deck and docked the boat before setting foot on land. The sun was already beginning to lower down in the sky as afternoon turned to evening.

Alex looked around and was thoroughly impressed, the whole city was spotless. It looked like it had just been cleaned today. You could hardly even see a couple footprints on the roads.

Alex felt a little uncomfortable with the state of the city… but he wasn't sure why. The pirates walked around a little before finding a main road. The road split the city in half, you could see both beaches on either side of the island from here.

When Alex looked around the feeling of discomfort started to grow. Alex looked to his side and saw Buggy shaking in fear… that wasn't a good sign. If there was one thing that Buggy was unparalleled at, it was sensing when something bad was about to happen. A truly useful skill to have… it's just a shame he only had the skill due to how often bad things happened to him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Alex spotted a small group of men across the island, on the main road. They just left a building right next to the largest building on the island. It was a small warehouse-looking building.

Alex's eyes were then drawn to the biggest building on the island, it had bright lights all over it and was mainly glass that you couldn't see through. It was at least 10 stories tall and looked like it was reaching into the clouds next to all the smaller buildings around it.

Suddenly, someone from behind Alex pulled him back into an alley, and whispered loudly. "Everyone, get in here."

The rest of the crew didn't think much about it and followed Alex and the girl who was holding him.

"Hahaha! Did you already find a girl for tonight?" Roger asked loudly.

"SHHH!" The girl said as she brought a finger to her lips.

Roger nodded like a tamed dog. Alex giggled a little seeing the gargantuan man, powerless against someone half his size.

"Are you all insane?! Why are you out past the curfew?" The girl asked.

Rayleigh laughed. "You're a funny lady. We pirates don't really have a curfew."

The girl shook her head. "You must be new here. No one on this island is allowed out after 8 o'clock. You need to either stay home or visit one of the family's businesses."

Alex realized why he had such an uncomfortable feeling. He had only seen a few people walking into different buildings. This place was practically a ghost town for some reason.

Roger laughed and went to walk away before Rayleigh stopped him.

Alex moved out of the girl's grasp. "So, what are these businesses?" Alex asked.

"The family who… takes care of the citizens of this city and protects us." The girl replied. "They only protect us based on a few conditions."

Shanks tilted his head and brought one hand to his chin. "Then… just don't accept. What could you possibly need protection from if this island is an island well known for housing mobsters."

Buggy nodded. "Yeah, what kinda pirates would attack this place?!"

The girl sighed. "Well… pirate protection is only one of the things the family offers. Lately, people have been going missing. Men, women, children, nobody is safe. So the Luciano family proposed some conditions to keep us safe. There is a daily tax that everyone has to pay after work, and the curfew. Which says that you can only go out if you visit businesses that the family runs, that way they know it will be safe."

Alex chuckled. "That's ludacris."

"No! The disappearances have slowed down! Only one person disappears a week now!" The girl said.

"Isn't the whole thing about the mob that they treat the people in their mob like family and they protect their home territory, no matter what?" Alex asked.

"They do protect us! The curfew is for our own benefit." She replied defensively.

Alex shrugged. "Sounds like extortion to me. But who cares? What are these businesses they run?"

The girl glared at him before responding. "They run all sorts of places, bars, restaurants, and a couple other places, but the biggest one is…"

She paused.

"The big building with flashy lights, right? The big casino." Alex finished before she could.

Alex smiled. "Welp, thanks for the information." He turned around and waved behind him. "We'll get going now. We'd probably end up at a bar either way."

Roger laughed and followed him after escaping from Rayleigh. The rest of the crew smiled and followed along.

The girl looked at the group and shook her head. "You fools, you'll just end up like the rest of them."

The crew couldn't hear her over their laughter and banter.

She turned around and walked away, disappearing into the night.

Eventually, everyone made it to a bar. Roger laughed as he opened the door and looked inside. The bar was packed, people were spilling out of booths and the entire place was crowded. Alex, Shanks and Buggy tried to enter but were stopped by a bouncer.

"You kids seriously think you're getting in?" The bouncer asked.

Alex was shocked! Someone actually stopped them? This had never happened! Not even at Marineford!

Shanks just clicked his tongue and left with Alex, Buggy and April, who followed Buggy. Alex looked down at his white and old marine clothes.

"Why don't we go shopping?" He asked.